Sunday Bird Droppings

Matt Wieters of Baltimore Orioles hopes to ready for Opening Day - ESPN
"The Baltimore Orioles star, who underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last June 17, is already catching bullpen sessions at spring training. He can hit, too. He just hasn't tried to throw out baserunners yet."

Baltimore Orioles pitching prospects draw a crowd at spring training - Baltimore Sun
"I don’t know if it’s curiousity at this point," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of a group that included Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, Tommy Hunter, Darren O’Day, Zach Britton and Kevin Gausman.  "They’re looking for allies. They’re looking for guys who can help us. I think everybody knows that’s where we’re going if there's a need.

Call him what you want, but Chris Tillman produces like an ace for the Baltimore Orioles - Baltimore Sun
Chris Tillman cares little for the perception the Orioles lack an ace starter. "It doesn't bother me in the least bit,'' he said Friday. "My job is to make the guys around me better, and I feel like I'm doing my job when that happens. It's important to do the best you can and be 'the ace,' but when we can collectively, as a group, be better than another team, we did it. That's success to me."

Orioles' Paul Janish out 3-4 weeks after elbow procedure : Fantasy News
"Orioles SS Paul Janish will be out for the next three-to-four weeks. Janish told CSN Mid Atlantic's Rich Dubroff that he had surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow last Friday."

Salary arbitration is a win-win for the players - Baltimore Sun
Peter Schmuck says Peter Schmuck things about arbitration.

School of Roch: Concluding the second day of workouts (with videos and photos)
News and notes from the second day of camp, many of which were already aggregated in yesterday's Spring Training roundup.

School of Roch: Goals for Gonzalez include rotation spot and 200 innings
"I would love to throw 200 innings," Miguel Gonzalez said. "I know Chris Tillman has done it two years in a row, so I think that's pretty impressive to do, especially in our division. That's one of the main points."

Arlington’s Pat Connaughton is two-sport star at Notre Dame - The Boston Globe
Pat Connaughton might not end up in the Orioles' minor league system after all. "So I think I’m going to give basketball a chance. I’m going to go at it as hard as I can these next few months at the collegiate level, but then after, we’ll see what happens. Based off what Coach [Mike Brey] has told me, and what I’ve heard from various scouts and stuff like that, I think there’s definitely a chance for me to take basketball to the next level. It's not a bad problem to have."

Glove young fan Maier used on Jeter's homer sells for $22K - USA Today
"The glove Jeffrey Maier used to pull Derek Jeter's famous home run over the wall during the 1996 AL Championship Series against Baltimore has been sold at auction for $22,705." I hope the cash gives him a rash.

Wrestling: Orioles' Ponick headed to Madison - Leader-Telegram: Preps
An Oriole is going for a championship!

LATE BONUS BIRD DROPPING!

The Worst Transactions of the 2015 Off-Season | FanGraphs Baseball
Nick Markakis's contract comes in as the second-worst deal of the winter to Dave Cameron over at FG: "The Braves spent the winter blowing up their roster, admitting that they’re likely non-contenders for the next several seasons, and are going to attempt to rebuild a winner by the time their new stadium opens in 2017. So why, in the middle of going young, would you outbid win-now teams for the services of a mediocre low-ceiling outfielder who, by the way, happens to need neck surgery?"

Happy Birthday to former Orioles Kelly Johnson, Ramon Nivar, John Halama, Steve Barber, and Ryne Duren.

On this date in Orioles history, in 2014, the Orioles signed Nelson Cruz to a one-year, $8 million deal. I'd say it worked out pretty well.

Need to clean a coffee or spice grinder? You can’t put this appliance in the dishwasher and cleaning by hand will likely result in a cut-up hand. Instead pulverize bread or uncooked white rice to remove old odors. Then grind 1 tablespoon baking soda to clean, and wipe thoroughly.

Consider this your Daytona 500 (Or, as it it properly pronounced, "DAY-tone-uh FI HUNNERT") discussion space.

You know, back when Guido and Luigi used to work for me, they would fight over everything. They fight over what Open Thread was the best Open Thread; which one of them looked more like a Open Thread. There were even some non-Open Thread fights. So I tell them, "E va bene. It's OK to fight. Everybody fights now and then, especially best friends. But you gotta make up fast. No fight more important than friendship."